Jean Cavailles
Encyclopedia
Jean Cavaillès was a French philosopher and mathematician, specialized in philosophy of science
. He took part in the French Resistance
within the Libération
movement and was shot by the Gestapo
on February 17, 1944.
, Deux-Sèvres
. Cavaillès became Professor at the University of Amiens in 1936, and was nominated Doctor of Arts in 1938. He later became a lecturer in General and Logical Philosophy to the Faculty of Arts at the University of Strasbourg
.
After the outbreaks of World War II, he was mobilized in 1939 as an infantry lieutenant with the 43rd Regiment, and was later attached to the Staff of the 4th Colonial Division
. He was honoured for bravery twice, and was captured on June 11, 1940. At the end of July 1940 he escaped from Belgium and fled to Clermont-Ferrand
.
At the end of December 1940, he met Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie
, with whom he created a small group of resistance fighters, known as "the Last Column". To reach a broader audience, it was decided to create a newspaper, which was to become Libération
, the mouthpiece of Libération-Sud
and Libération-Nord
. Cavaillès took an active part in editing the paper. The first edition appeared in July 1941.
He was appointed professor at the Sorbonne
in 1941, and left Clermont-Ferrand for Paris, where he helped form the "Libération-North" resistance group becoming part of its management committee.
In April 1942, at the instigation of Christian Pineau
, the central Office of Information and Action (BCRA
) of London charged him with the task of forming an intelligence network in the Northern Zone, known as "Cohors". He was ordered by Christian Pineau
to pass into the Southern Zone, and Cavaillès headed the network and formed similar groups in Belgium and the north of France.
In Narbonne
he was arrested with Pineau by the French police in September 1942. After a failed attempt at escaping to London, he was interned in Montpellier
at the Saint-Paul d' Eyjeaux prison camp from where he escaped at the end of December 1942. The book Cavaillès wrote in prison in Montpellier in 1942 was published posthumously in 1946, edited by the epistemologist Georges Canguilhem
and the mathematician Charles Ehresmann
under the title Sur la logique et la theorie de la science.
Denounced as a public enemy by the Vichy regime, and sought by the police force, he fled clandestinely to London in February 1943. He met General Charles de Gaulle
on several occasions.
Back in France on April 15 he resigned from the management Committee of Liberation in order to dedicate himself entirely to the direct action. He was in charge of the sabotage of the stores of the Kriegsmarine
in Brittany
and German radio installations on the coast.
Betrayed by one of his liaison officers, he was arrested on August 28, 1943 in Paris with his sister and her brother-in-law. Tortured, imprisoned in Fresnes then in Compiègne
, he was transferred to the Citadel from Arras and was shot on February 17, 1944. Buried in Arras
under a wooden cross marked "unknown n°5", his body was exhumed in 1946 to be buried in the Crypt in the Sorbonne
, in Paris.
In homage the 'Centre Cavaillès de l'École Normale Supérieure
' was established in Paris in 1969, at 3e étage au 29 rue d'Ulm, as Centre for the Study of the History and Philosophy of Science. At the formal opening the philosopher Georges Canguilhem
said...
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
. He took part in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
within the Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
movement and was shot by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
on February 17, 1944.
Biography
Cavaillès was born in Saint-MaixentSaint-Maixent
Saint-Maixent is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
, Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres is a French département. Deux-Sèvres literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department.-History:...
. Cavaillès became Professor at the University of Amiens in 1936, and was nominated Doctor of Arts in 1938. He later became a lecturer in General and Logical Philosophy to the Faculty of Arts at the University of Strasbourg
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
.
After the outbreaks of World War II, he was mobilized in 1939 as an infantry lieutenant with the 43rd Regiment, and was later attached to the Staff of the 4th Colonial Division
French Colonial Forces
The French Colonial Forces , commonly called La Coloniale, was a general designation for the military forces that garrisoned in the French colonial empire from the late 17th century until 1960. They were recruited from mainland France or from the French settler and indigenous populations of the...
. He was honoured for bravery twice, and was captured on June 11, 1940. At the end of July 1940 he escaped from Belgium and fled to Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
.
At the end of December 1940, he met Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie
Emmanuel d'Astier
Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie was a French journalist, politician and member of the French Resistance.-Biography:Born in Paris, he attended the Naval Academy, but resigned from the French Navy in 1923...
, with whom he created a small group of resistance fighters, known as "the Last Column". To reach a broader audience, it was decided to create a newspaper, which was to become Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
, the mouthpiece of Libération-Sud
Libération-sud
The Libération-sud resistance group was established by a group of French people, including Emmanuel d'Astier, Lucie Aubrac and Raymond Aubrac. The first important Resistant group to emerge after the German occupation, it began publishing Libération in July 1941...
and Libération-Nord
Libération-Nord
Libération-Nord was one of the principal resistance movements in the northern occupied zone of France during the Second World War.It was one of the eight great networks to make up the National Council of the Resistance.- History :...
. Cavaillès took an active part in editing the paper. The first edition appeared in July 1941.
He was appointed professor at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in 1941, and left Clermont-Ferrand for Paris, where he helped form the "Libération-North" resistance group becoming part of its management committee.
In April 1942, at the instigation of Christian Pineau
Christian Pineau
Christian Pineau was a noted French Resistance fighter.He was born in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France and died in Paris.His father-in-law was the writer Jean Giraudoux, who was married to Pineau's mother...
, the central Office of Information and Action (BCRA
Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action
The Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action , commonly referred as the BCRA was the World War II-era forerunner of the SDECE, the French intelligence service...
) of London charged him with the task of forming an intelligence network in the Northern Zone, known as "Cohors". He was ordered by Christian Pineau
Christian Pineau
Christian Pineau was a noted French Resistance fighter.He was born in Chaumont-en-Bassigny, Haute-Marne, France and died in Paris.His father-in-law was the writer Jean Giraudoux, who was married to Pineau's mother...
to pass into the Southern Zone, and Cavaillès headed the network and formed similar groups in Belgium and the north of France.
In Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
he was arrested with Pineau by the French police in September 1942. After a failed attempt at escaping to London, he was interned in Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
at the Saint-Paul d' Eyjeaux prison camp from where he escaped at the end of December 1942. The book Cavaillès wrote in prison in Montpellier in 1942 was published posthumously in 1946, edited by the epistemologist Georges Canguilhem
Georges Canguilhem
Georges Canguilhem was a French philosopher and physician who specialized in epistemology and the philosophy of science .-Life and work:...
and the mathematician Charles Ehresmann
Charles Ehresmann
Charles Ehresmann was a French mathematician who worked on differential topology and category theory. He is known for work on the topology of Lie groups, the jet concept , and his seminar on category theory.He attended the École Normale Supérieure in Paris before performing one year of military...
under the title Sur la logique et la theorie de la science.
Denounced as a public enemy by the Vichy regime, and sought by the police force, he fled clandestinely to London in February 1943. He met General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
on several occasions.
Back in France on April 15 he resigned from the management Committee of Liberation in order to dedicate himself entirely to the direct action. He was in charge of the sabotage of the stores of the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and German radio installations on the coast.
Betrayed by one of his liaison officers, he was arrested on August 28, 1943 in Paris with his sister and her brother-in-law. Tortured, imprisoned in Fresnes then in Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
, he was transferred to the Citadel from Arras and was shot on February 17, 1944. Buried in Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
under a wooden cross marked "unknown n°5", his body was exhumed in 1946 to be buried in the Crypt in the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, in Paris.
In homage the 'Centre Cavaillès de l'École Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
' was established in Paris in 1969, at 3e étage au 29 rue d'Ulm, as Centre for the Study of the History and Philosophy of Science. At the formal opening the philosopher Georges Canguilhem
Georges Canguilhem
Georges Canguilhem was a French philosopher and physician who specialized in epistemology and the philosophy of science .-Life and work:...
said...
Military honours
- Chevalier de la Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
- Compagnon de la Libération - decree of 20 November 1944
- Croix de guerreCroix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
39/45 - Médaille de la RésistanceMédaille de la RésistanceThe French Médaille de la Résistance was awarded by General Charles de Gaulle "to recognise the remarkable acts of faith and of courage that, in France, in the empire and abroad, have contributed to the resistance of the French people against the enemy and against its accomplices since June 18,...
- Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne de Belgique (avec palme)
- Médaille de la Résistance (Belgique)
Works
- Briefwechsel Cantor-Dedekind, hrsg. von E.Noether und J.Cavaillès, Paris, Hermann, 1937.
- Axiomatic method and formalism, Paris, Hermann, 1938.
- Remarks on the formation of the abstract set theory, Paris, Hermann, 1938.
- Philosophical tests, Paris, Hermann, 1939
- "Of the collective with the bet", Review of metaphysics and morals, XLVII, 1940, pp. 139–163.
- "The mathematical thought", discussion with Albert Lautman (February 4, 1939), Bulletin of the French Company of philosophy, T. XL, 1946.
- Transfinite and continuous, Paris, Hermann, 1947.
- On the Logic and the theory of science, Paris, PUF, 1947.
- Complete works of philosophy of sciences, Paris, Hermann, 1994.
Critical bibliography
- Canguilhem, Georges, Life and death of Jean Cavaillès, Paris: Allia, 1996
- Cassou-Noguès, Pierre, Of the mathematical experiment: test on the philosophy of sciences of Jean Cavaillès, Paris: Vrin, 2001
- Azema, Jean-Pierre and Aglan, Alya, Jean Cavaillès - Resisting or the thought in acts, Paris, Flammarion, 2002
- Gabrielle, Jean Cavaillès: a philosopher in the war, 1903 - 1944, Paris: Félin, 2003
Film
- L’Armée des ombres (1969) directed by Jean-Pierre Melville (A fictional account of Cavailles life during World War II)
External links
- Ordre de la Libération at www.ordredelaliberation.fr
- Jean Cavaillès. The philosophy of the concept today _Congrès 2004 :fr:Jean Cavaillès